Mark Twain once said, “You have to take your brain out and dance on it.” In other words, you need to give your mind some downtime tonight, if you want to have a more productive tomorrow. With that said are you a person who spends weekends and evenings worrying about business? Do you think about meetings, emails, and office politics? If so, it’s time to learn how to use your free-time more productively. Not only is your time away from the concerns of the workplace necessary, but a rested mind is more efficient and productive.

Dr. Barbara Mackoff describes a number of techniques to help you leave work at the workplace in her book, “The Art of Self-Renewal: Balance Pressure and Productivity On and Off the Job” (Lowell House, 1992).

One of the first steps is learning how to leave in the evening – shifting from the fast, demanding pace of the workplace to the more relaxed rhythms of the home. Try these ideas for making the transition easier:

1. End the day with the low-pressure work. In your last hour of work, you may be doing your most demanding tasks. If the day ends in this kind of stressful rush, you’re bound to take that intensity home with you. Instead, try to end the day with easier, less pressured work. Clear your desk, put stuff away, read professional literature. Even better, this is a great time to return phone calls or emails. (Don’t you hate it when people don’t return your calls or emails? I’m sure that you do, so don’t do it to other people. If calling back takes too much time, then send an email. Keep your replies short and friendly. No one is that busy that they can’t return emails.)

2. Make a list of what you need to do the next day or the beginning of next week. Alleviate apprehensions you feel about tomorrow by setting up your plan right now. List everything you want to do. Decide if any tasks can be delegated or handled later in the week. Then assign a priority to each item and preferred time of day to tackle it. Before I go to sleep, I take a notepad and write everything down that I need to do the following day. (Sometimes this list can be two full pages!) The next day, as I finish each task, I not only feel a wonderful sense of accomplishment, but I also am amazed at how much work I’ve done.

3. Create a closing ceremony, a routine you will perform every day before you leave. Tear a page from the wall calendar and drop it into the waste bucket; log off the computer; ask co-workers about plans for the evening, put a sign up in your office or cubicle that reads, “I’m here, you just can’t see me!” or “Gone home.” No matter how simple the closing ceremony, it has the power to indicate the day is done and your evening or weekend has begun.

Start tonight and take your brain out for a dance. Not only will you have a more productive tomorrow, but there’s also no cover charge and you don’t even have to dress up! What could be better than that?

Funny motivational speaker Bob Garner is the author of “Masters of Motivation” which has been called a “must read” by business leaders. Bob writes for numerous business magazines and speaks extensively worldwide on motivation, sales, and success. Visit his funny keynote motivational speaker site for more information.

©2013 Bob Garner. All Rights Reserved. You may use this article, but you must use the whole article, the byline and author resource links.

Whether it’s a customer appreciation event, employee appreciation event or a sales meeting, the utilization of corporate event entertainment goes a long way to making your event more exciting and fun. However, if you’re an event manager, choosing the right entertainment is critical. Here are a few things to keep in mind, when deciding on what type of corporate entertainment will work for you:

A Good Fit – The Audience:
While all people like to be entertained, there are differences of opinions as to what is entertaining. True, as the old saying goes, “The quickest way to fail is to try and please everyone,” you can still please the majority. To do that, look at your audience and determine what kind of entertainment they would actually pay to see. Consider the overall demographics of your group. For example: If you have an international group, a comedian may not be effective, unless that comedian knows how to work in front of that type of audience.

Stage, Lights and Sound – The Set-Up:
Make sure that your talent has the proper staging to deliver his or her act. If using a talent like a comedian or magician, keep the audience close to the stage. For these acts, placing the audience at a distance from the performer is an obstacle, as are any walls or building posts that may impede on views. Adequate sound and lighting that will meet the needs of your entertainment is critical. Finally, do not have your talent perform while your group is eating. That is distracting for the talent, as well as the audience.

This Ain’t HBO – Keep It Clean:
The corporate entertainer that you hire must be able to work clean. That means no offensive language, etc.

Show and Tell – View the Demo:
By viewing the corporate entertainer’s video, you will see whether or not he or she would be a fit for your group. Notice what other companies have hired that entertainer as their corporate event entertainment. Many entertainers will place logos on their sites “suggesting” they have worked for those companies, but they have no testimonials – written or video – to back up that work. The entertainer’s site should provide real testimonials – preferably video testimonials – and those testimonials should back up the majority of the companies for which the entertainer states he or she has worked.

Need to Speak – Conference Call:
Schedule a conference call with the act – not the agent. Unless you are hiring a “big name,” then you should be able to speak with the talent, prior to booking. Usually, the agent will also be on the call, which is fine. During that call, never talk about fees, just keep it to what you would like the talent to provide and gauge their response to your requests.

Don’t Forget Us – Customization:
The corporate entertainer should be able to customize his or her presentation to include some key messaging that you want your group to hear. Obviously, if you’re booking a band, that is not the case. I’m speaking about comedians, corporate magicians and mentalists, jugglers, etc. These talents should be able to incorporate some messaging into their presentations. For customer appreciation events the messaging may be lighter than for a sales group or maybe not. If the talent has corporate experience (and why would you hire that person if they didn’t?) during your conference call, ask their opinion.

The Check Is in the Mail – Pay on Time:
Most corporate event entertainment providers are self-employed. They require a deposit and then timely payment on the remainder. Don’t treat the talent like an employee or even a vendor that may supply product to your company. Your employees get paid on time – with benefits – and the vendors usually work with companies that pay them on time with benefits. You like to be paid on time… and so does the talent.

These are just a few corporate event entertainment ideas that will allow you to provide the right type of entertainment at your next meeting.  View my corporate entertainment site to find out what I provide or my corporate event entertainment site.

©2013 Bob Garner. All Rights Reserved. You may use this article, but you must use the byline and author resource.

I work with many meeting planners and not long ago, I was scheduled to be the morning entertaining motivational keynote speaker for a large corporation. In a phone call to the meeting planner, I found out that she – unknown to the actual client – had scheduled me to speak while the audience was eating breakfast.

I’m known as a funny motivational speaker who actually has something to say and my presentations are highly interactive. The meeting planner knew that my client wanted me to kick-off the day with an informative, motivational and fun presentation and having me speak while the audience was eating would not only not achieve that goal, but also was a prime example of poor planning.

Meeting planners and event planners know that speakers are a prime component of meetings and making sure the audience receives the full benefit of the person speaking, as well as ensuring that the speaker has what he/she needs to effectively deliver the presentation, is essential to the success of the speaker, as well as to the overall event. When this does not occur, the result is a poor experience for the speaker and the audience, as well as “egg on the face” of the event planner.

The following 5 steps will aid you in making sure the presenter and the audience, as well as your client receive the full benefit of utilizing a speaker at your meeting.

1 – No Speakers While the Audience is Eating:
People don’t like to be disturbed while they eat. How do you concentrate or even listen to what a speaker has to say while you’re passing the salt? Oftentimes, due to the room set-up, during meals some audience members have their back to the stage, which means the speaker has the pleasure of speaking to the backs of the heads of the audience. (It’s rude to the speaker and the audience.) Presenters like audiences to pay attention to what they have to say and that won’t happen, if the audience is engaged in eating.

2 – Position the Audience Close to the Speaker:
Placing a dance floor or tons of audio/visual equipment in front of the speaker so that the audience is 20-30 feet away from the stage provides an automatic disconnect from the speaker. A good presenter wants to see the faces of the audience to gauge their program and make any adjustments. Keep the audience close to the speaker.

3 – Clarify Walk-On and Walk-Off Music:
Recently at a large meeting, they introduced the chairman of the board by playing an unrecognizable song by the late James Brown. Instead of applauding the chairman when he arrived on stage, the room went quiet… no applause. The COB just stood there. It was a very uncomfortable moment and that’s never good, when you’re dealing with the COB. Pay attention to the details. Make sure that you go over the music that will be used to bring people on and off the stage.

4 – Don’t Clutter the Stage:
I recently did a presentation where the stage was so full of plants and flowers. I thought I was speaking in the nursery section of a Home Depot. When the director of sales came up to speak, he said to the audience, “Wow – look at all these flowers! Who died?” Of course, everyone turned toward the meeting planner and laughed. Let me ask you, is that a “good thing?” Keep it looking simple and smart. Having a nicely decorated stage is appropriate, but don’t go overboard.

5 -Read and Follow the Rider:
Most professional speakers have a rider, which is a document that explains what he/she will need in order to do his/her job effectively. Speakers create riders for a reason – they know what they need. We have all heard the stories about rock bands asking for something as superfluous as brown M&Ms in their riders. Such a request is usually placed deep in the rider to see if – when band shows up – the asked for items have been provided. That way – the band knows someone has actually read the rider and the stage will be set for the band to do what they were hired to do. If those items are not there – someone is not doing their job. The vast majority of speakers have simple riders and will not request brown M&Ms, but they will request water, proper lighting, a/v, etc. Read the rider. If there is a concern, call the speaker and ask for clarification.

With regard to the meeting planner for my morning event – fortunately, I was able to have her “see the light” and she had me go on after breakfast. It was the correct decision.

Remember, the client hired the speaker to either be entertaining, motivating, informative or a combination of the above. You do a disservice to the speaker, the audience, as well as your client if you don’t help the presenter do his/her job as easily and effectively as possible. While the above 5 tips may seem basic to most meeting planners, they are details that are quite often overlooked. A meeting planner gets paid to pay attention to the details and by doing so you make sure that the “eggs” stay on the plates of your audience … and don’t end up on your face.

Funny motivational speaker Bob Garner works with corporations worldwide to improve employee and sales productivity and performance. In addition to being an entertaining keynote speaker, Bob is an author and syndicated writer.

©2011 Bob Garner. All Rights Reserved. You may use this article, but you must use the byline and author resource.

Public domain late 1800's

It was 85 years ago on Halloween at 1:26 pm in Detroit, MI, when Harry Houdini took his last breath. Houdini is the person who is probably more responsible for keeping the art of magic alive than any other magician who has ever lived. In fact, if you ask most people to think of a famous magician, Houdini is probably one of the first names uttered.

Houdini’s secret was that he not only understood marketing and advertising, but also, even more importantly, he had a great product – he was an escape artist. He possessed the ability to escape. People desire to escape. People want to “break loose” from reality and their problems, as well as the chains that bind them to their everyday existence.

Houdini used that desire to create impossible situations and then he would escape from them. Houdini would accept challenges from other people and then escape from those challenges, as well. His escapes were based on a vast knowledge of what was going to be binding him – handcuffs, leg irons, a straightjacket, etc. – and then developing an exit strategy that would free him. He had unbelievable patience and a determination to succeed.

You can use that same strategy, when faced with a challenge that seems inescapable. Discover all you can about what the challenge is and then, calmly, create an exit strategy that will allow you to overcome it. The key word here is “calmly.” Even though Houdini knew how he would make his escape in advance, sometimes his idea didn’t work, so he had to devise and try another plan. Houdini, even with his most difficult escapes, knew that he must never panic. He was resolved that “in time,” he would always find a way out of the problem.

Therefore, don’t try and “force” an outcome. Develop a plan and move according to circumstance. If you need to change your strategy, do so. However, with any plan you devise, be steadfast in your thinking that you will, ultimately, find an answer to your problem and that you will succeed.

Undoubtedly, Houdini will be remembered as a great magician. But he will also be remembered as someone who showed people that despite any challenge, there is always a way to escape through an understanding of the situation, the development of a flexible plan and then, the calm execution of that plan … with determination.

At the age of 8, Bob read a book on Houdini and was hooked. Today, as one of the leading funny motivational speakers on the corporate circuit, Bob reinforces strategic points of his presentation with magic and mind reading. You can watch his funny motivational speaker video demo for a quick look at Bob’s work. 

©2011 Bob Garner. All Rights Reserved. You may use this article, but you must use the byline and author resource.

The trade show manager and marketing personnel have put together a great exhibit. The booth looks fantastic and delivers the company message. You have the pre-show meeting where you tell all the reps what is expected and then when the doors open… the reps stand around and talk to one another, play with their phones or laptops, and wait for someone to amble into the booth. (Sound familiar?) 

Worse, they only want to talk to “real buyers” and only buyers of “their particular product” or “their sales area.” The result? A low ROI, a frustrated trade show manager and marketing director, and questions as to whether trade shows are really worth the money.

Firstly, trade shows are worth the money, because any time you can get a group of potential buyers or persuaders together, relationships are made or strengthened and sales can be made. (You can’t create the same “feeling” from a webinar or teleconference – but that’s for another article.) 

Secondly, you suffer from a low ROI – not to mentioned frustrated marketing managers, trade show managers, and event managers – because your sales force may know how to sell in the field, but few know how to sell on the trade show floor. 

What follows sounds simple, yet few reps actually do it. So, regardless of your level of trade show experience, here are just a few things on which sales reps need to focus at a trade show:

1) Stop looking for low hanging fruit. By low hanging fruit, I mean waiting for attendees to come to you. Get out of your booth and step into the aisles. Hold some info or DVD/CDs in your hand and engage attendees, as they walk down the aisles. You can say, “If you’re interested in (a brief sentence of what your product does), we can help you out.” Or you can say, “Are you interested in (insert above sentence)?” Engage the attendee. Smile and be friendly. 

When someone does walk in the booth, halt your conversation with your fellow rep about where to go to dinner and talk to the attendee. Introduce yourself and ask them, “What can I help you with?” Which leads me to…

2) It’s a team approach. If an attendee is not from your region or is interested in another product you don’t cover, take the attendee to the rep who can benefit from the conversation with that attendee. Sales reps aren’t necessarily “team players.” Companies love to talk about “teamwork” and then honor the individuals who have made more sales than others with prizes, cash, etc.

That’s why “teamwork” must be stressed at the pre-show meeting. Reps can help each other do more business at the show, which aids everyone. If a fellow rep won’t reciprocate, then you can stop sharing the leads with that rep. But more likely than not, your fellow rep will return the favor, if not there, at sometime in the future.

3) Get your mind off the close. Reps are focused, rightly so, on closing deals. However, at trade shows you have to relax and distance yourself from the close and work more on the “relationships” aspect, as well as educating potential customers. Why? Basic psychology: Right now, people are nervous and anxious and they can sense the same from other people. People will always gravitate to someone who is calm and relaxed, especially if they themselves are not. If you are relaxed and focused on relationships and educating the attendee, the attendee will respond with calmness and be more open to your ideas and suggestions.

Bottom line: Trade shows are the undisputed king of relationship building and the on-site, real-time education of large number of customers. As mentioned, webinars and teleconferencing are fine and have their place, but real face time and hands-on demos still and always will beat a flat screen and a dark conference room.

By being proactive at a show, you expand your opportunities. Expanding your opportunities will increase your productivity. You increase the amount of leads in your pipeline and help to generate a higher ROI from the show not only for you, but also for the whole company. In turn, this gives your marketing team the help they need to continue to help you.

These 3 tips for selling at a trade show will help trade show managers and event managers get their sales reps focused on being more proactive and more productive on the show floor, which increases ROI and justifies the marketing expense.  To see how I am able to help you create a “buzz” about your booth, bring in quality leads and increase your ROI, watch the video below:

Professional Speaking Tips – 7 Tips On How to Use Quotes In a Speech

When properly used, a good quote can add impact to a key point of your presentation.  Whether you are a public speaker or a professional speaker, the following 7 tips will show you how to use a quote in a speech.

1) Key point - What is the “key point” you are trying to make? Is it improving communication, dealing with change or increasing sales?

2) Search – Go to your favorite search engine and type in that keyword followed by the word “quotes.” Example: Change quotes.

3) Examine – Pick a site and examine the quotes to see if there is one that underscores your message.

4) Known Source – Obviously, a well-known source, such as Lincoln or Einstein, is very useful because you don’t need to explain who that person was to your group. These are the easiest to incorporate into your talk.

5) Unknown Source – This is more challenging, as you will need to explain who this person was to your group. For example: If you were to quote Plutarch, you would need to say, “As the Greek historian Plutarch said around 115 AD…”.

6) Tie Back – Tie the quote back to your message. “As President John F. Kennedy said, ‘Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.’ That is why we are making these changes because we want our company to be a part of the future.”

7) Pause – As Mark Twain once said, “The right word may be effective, but nothing is as effective as the rightly timed pause.” Let the quote and your “tie-back” settle in the mind of your audience. 3 seconds is just about right. It gives your audience a moment to process what you just said. If the quote correctly reinforces your message, it provides amazing impact to your speech.

These 7 tips on how to use a quote in a speech will help you to properly reinforce a key point that you want your audience to remember and add power to your presentation.

On this funny motivational speaker post, I wanted to share a few inspirational quotes that you may find interesting and useful. 

“Know how to listen, and you will profit even from those who talk badly”. – Plutarch, Greek Historian – 46-120 AD 

“Before you can achieve the kind of life you want, you must think, act, talk and conduct yourself in all your affairs as would the person you wish to become”. – Earl Nightingale, entrepreneur, author, speaker. 

“Do, just once, what others say you can’t do, and you will never pay any attention to their limitations again.” – James Cook author of “The Start-Up Entrepreneur.” 

“Disaster sometimes rolls over and becomes a blessing.”  - Chinese Proverb 

Professional Speaking Tip – In many of my talks, I use quotes to reinforce important points. Like a good story, a quote can add just the right emphasis to your information and help drive your message home.